State v. Perbix

331 N.W.2d 14, 1983 N.D. LEXIS 244
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 3, 1983
DocketCr. 872
StatusPublished
Cited by39 cases

This text of 331 N.W.2d 14 (State v. Perbix) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Perbix, 331 N.W.2d 14, 1983 N.D. LEXIS 244 (N.D. 1983).

Opinion

PAULSON, Justice.

This case involves the validity of a search of a probationer’s residence conducted by law enforcement officers pursuant to authority granted in a “search clause” which was made a condition of the defendant’s probation in a prior judgment of conviction. The State appeals from an order of the District Court of Mercer County, dated June 14, 1982, suppressing evidence discovered during the course of the search. We reverse.

In February of 1980, Robert A. Perbix [Perbix] pled guilty to and was convicted of two charges of possession of a controlled substance. As a result, Perbix was fined $475 on each charge and was sentenced to serve one year at the State Farm, with $250 of the fine on each charge and eight months of the sentence suspended for two years. It was further ordered that Perbix be placed under probation. In addition to the condition that Perbix not violate any laws during the period of his probation, the following condition was imposed:

“3. That the defendant shall allow the search of his person, place of residence and motor vehicle, at any time, day or night, by any police officer or probation officer, with or without a search warrant and with or without probable cause.”

On December 2, 1981, Officer Wesley Berg of the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department, who was aware of the “search clause” in Perbix’s prior judgment of conviction, approached Hazen Police Chief Patrick Foley and suggested that they conduct a search of Perbix’s residence because the search provision had not been previously implemented. 1 Although the state’s attor *16 ney was consulted about a search and approved it, Perbix’s probation officer was not contacted. No attempt was made to obtain a search warrant.

At approximately 1:30 p.m. on December 4, 1981, Police Chief Foley, Officer Berg, and six other officers from the Hazen Police Department and the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department arrived at the trailer home in which Perbix had been living for several years, for the purpose of conducting a search of the residence. Foley knocked on the door and when a voice asked who was outside, he answered “police officers”. Sharon Farrand, the other occupant of the home, opened the door and Foley advised her that the police were there “to implement the search clause on Bob’s probation”. The officers then entered and found Scott Galyen and Farrand’s young daughter in the living room. Foley asked Farrand where Perbix was and she replied that he was in the bathroom. Foley walked down the hall to the bathroom, knocked on the door, identified himself, and asked Perbix to open the door. When the door opened, Foley informed Perbix that the police were there to implement the search clause. Per-bix did not object. The search of the kitchen and living room of the trailer home produced 48.79 grams of marijuana and 4.71 grams of hashish.

In a criminal information dated March 15, 1982, Perbix was charged with two counts of class C felony possession of a controlled substance. 2 See § 19-03.1-23(3) of the North Dakota Century Code. On March 25, 1982, Perbix made a motion to suppress the evidence discovered during the course of the search. Following a hearing on the motion, the district court issued its order granting the suppression motion on June 14, 1982. 3 The State has appealed from this order.

The following issues are presented for review:

(1) Whether or not the “search clause” contained in the defendant’s prior judgment of conviction is valid in light of § 12.1-32-07(2)(o), N.D.C.C., which states that such searches may be executed “by a probation officer”, but fails to mention police officers; and
(2) Whether or not the “search clause” in the instant case and the manner in which it was executed violated the defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Before addressing these issues, we must first consider Perbix’s contention that this appeal should be dismissed because the State failed to comply with the requirements of § 29-28-07, N.D.C.G. That section provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

“29-28-07. From what the state may appeal.
An appeal may be taken by the state from:
*17 “5. An order granting the return of property or suppressing evidence, or suppressing a confession or admission, when accompanied by a statement of the prosecuting attorney asserting that the deprivation of the use of the property ordered to be returned or suppressed or of a confession or admission ordered to be suppressed has rendered the proof available to the state with respect to the criminal charge filed with the court, (1) insufficient as a matter of law, or (2) so weak in its entirety that any possibility of prosecuting such charge to a conviction has been effectively destroyed. The statement shall be filed with the clerk of district court and a copy thereof shall accompany the notice of appeal.”

The State filed its notice of appeal on June 21, 1982, but the statement of the prosecuting attorney was not filed until September 9, 1982. In the past we have been reluctant to dismiss similar appeals in which the State has failed to file the prosecuting attorney’s statement along with the notice of appeal, particularly where an ap-pellee has not challenged the content of the statement, but, rather, only the date of its filing. Compare State v. Borden, 316 N.W.2d 93, 96 (N.D.1982); State v. Fields, 294 N.W.2d 404, 406 (N.D.1980); State v. Harris, 286 N.W.2d 468, 470 (N.D.1979), with State v. Dilger, 322 N.W.2d 461 (N.D.1982). Because of the importance of reaching the merits in this case and because the appellee has not been prejudiced by the State’s delay in filing the prosecuting attorney’s statement, we decline to dismiss the appeal in the instant case on this ground. However, we add that the procedures governing the State’s right to appeal from an order suppressing evidence should not be taken lightly, and once again we express our disapproval of this delay in filing. We also note the following caveat from our opinion in Fields, supra 294 N.W.2d at 406:

“... our decision to allow the appeal should not be read as shifting to a defendant the burden of proving that the State could still reasonably prosecute without the suppressed evidence. Nor does it mean that in the future this court will not consider dismissing appeals for failure to file the prosecutor’s statement with the notice of appeal.”

I

VALIDITY OF THE SEARCH CLAUSE UNDER § 12.1-32-07, N.D.C.C.

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Bluebook (online)
331 N.W.2d 14, 1983 N.D. LEXIS 244, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-perbix-nd-1983.